Karam appointed head of the department of radiation oncology | Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Sana D. Karam, MD, PhD, a renowned radiation oncologist widely known for cutting-edge cancer research that combines radiation therapy and immunotherapy to treat head and neck and pancreatic tumors, has been named the James S. McDonnell Professor of radiation oncology and head of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His appointment begins on October 1.

Karam comes to WashU Medicine from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she is the Marsico Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research and a professor and vice chair for translational research in the Department of Radiation Oncology.

A passionate physician, Karam is also an innovative scientist. He has three National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigator-initiated R01 grants and multiple industry-sponsored awards, is the leader of the Head and Neck Cancer SPORE project at the University of Colorado, and directs numerous investigator-initiated trials focused on advancing in the research. from the lab bench to the bedside.

Our leadership team was deeply impressed by Dra’s experience and accomplishments. Karams and unanimously endorsed her to propel the Department of Radiation Oncology from its current prestigious position into the new era of technology and scientific innovations that are revolutionizing the science and practice of radiation therapy, said David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Karam has led research that has challenged some long-standing paradigms in radiation therapy, and we are thrilled to have her join WashU Medicine to help advance the field and lead the department in developing the next generation of cancer therapies

Originally from Lebanon, Karam was the first in her family to attend college and also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing. His research focuses on understanding how radiation therapy changes the immune microenvironment of tumors and how this knowledge can be harnessed to develop new therapies for difficult-to-treat pancreatic and head and neck cancers. It has shown that targeting key immune cell receptors with radiation can improve the ability of T cells to attack and kill pancreatic cancer cells. Their research also suggests that the practice of irradiating lymph nodes near the tumor in head and neck cancers can dampen the anti-tumor immune response by reducing the activation of killer T cells. Based on this observation, immunotherapy may be more effective in head and neck cancers if radiation to the lymph nodes is reduced. His work has also led to the translation of a combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy from animal models to early clinical trials in head and neck cancer patients.

Additionally, Karam had led multiple population health services studies that have resulted in initiatives focused on improving patient care. It also collaborates on clinical and preclinical research with several industry-leading partners, including Roche, Genentech, Amgen, Tvardi and AstraZeneca. Karam is a co-inventor on two US patents and three patents pending. She is also the principal investigator of an NIH-funded training grant in lung and head and neck cancer and directs her department’s diversity, equity and inclusion program.

It is an immense honor to be selected to lead the department of radiation oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Karam said. I look forward to working with the dedicated and talented physicians, researchers, and trainees at WashU Medicine to provide innovative patient care and conduct critical research to improve patient outcomes in the future.

Karam also excels in teaching and mentoring, including training many junior faculty, medical residents, postdoctoral fellows, doctoral students, graduate students, and research technicians. She has been recognized for her work with trainees, including the National Educator of the Year Award from the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology, in 2019.

Karam has an extensive background in science and medicine. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the American University of Beirut, where she later worked as a charge nurse in the coronary care unit. She continued her nursing education at the University of Maryland, where she earned a master’s degree in trauma and critical care nursing while working in the multi-trauma intensive care unit at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.

He received his PhD in 2001 in physiology and biophysics from the University of Washington. During her doctoral training, focusing on developmental neurobiology, she also worked as a nurse in the critical care unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Karam later completed a postdoctoral fellowship in oncology at Johns Hopkins University and then attended medical school. After earning his medical degree from Georgetown University in 2008, he completed his internship in internal medicine at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. For his residency in radiation oncology, he returned to Georgetown, where he served as chief resident from 2012-2013.

In 2013, Karam joined the faculty of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado. She is the institutional principal investigator for multiple clinical trials and chairs many committees and working groups, including the NCI, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Head and Neck Society, and the American Society of Oncology. radiation

He is also the recipient of the Bob Bast Translational Research Grant from the V Foundation, an honor for a research project that receives the highest rating from the organization’s scientific advisory committee.

Karam will succeed Dennis Hallahan, MD, who has led the department for 15 years. Hallahan, the Elizabeth H. and James S. McDonnell III Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology, will continue to direct his own research laboratory.